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PROGRAM NOTES

DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY NO . 8 shifting duets and trios in sweet harmony . The finale continues in an operatic vein , interrupting the action for free-flowing recitatives from the solo violin .

Instrumentation Flute , two oboes , two bassoons , two horns , two trumpets , timpani , and strings .
Antonín Dvořák
Born September 8 , 1841 near Prague , Bohemia Died May 1 , 1904 in Prague , Bohemia
SYMPHONY NO . 8 IN G MAJOR [ 1889 ]
Antonín Dvořák came from a small Bohemian village , where his zither-playing father was the local butcher and innkeeper . After a slow start as a freelancer in Prague , an intervention by Brahms helped Dvořák secure a publishing deal , and the overnight success of his Slavonic Dances made him an international star . He eventually used the proceeds from his conducting tours to fulfill his dream of buying a country house in the Bohemian village of
Vysoká , where he spent his summers composing , walking through the woods , and tending to his garden and pigeons . He composed his Eighth Symphony there in 1889 , filling it with sunny tunes , bright fanfares , and bird calls .
The symphony ’ s home key is G major , and its starting tempo is Allegro con brio ( Fast , with vigor ), but the deceptive opening gives the impression that the expressive minor-key theme in the cellos constitutes a slow introduction . A flute responds with a motive that becomes a recurring touchstone of the symphony , rising up the three notes of the G-major arpeggio and then bouncing through a series of bird-like chirps . In the slow second movement , an initial string hymn is juxtaposed with a woodwind-led answer , with the flute adding bird-like alternations that recall the first movement .
Instead of a rowdy scherzo , the Allegretto grazioso third movement enters as a debonair waltz . The trumpets launch the finale with a rousing call , and the cellos counter with a graceful theme that once again starts with a rising triad . All the thematic interconnections prove that this work , so relaxed and indubitably Czech , operates beneath the surface with as much rigor and integrity as any Beethoven or Brahms symphony .
Instrumentation Two flutes including piccolo , two oboes including English horn , two clarinets , two bassoons , four horns , two trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , and strings .
Musical Terms Kapellmeister : From the German Kapelle ( chapel ) and meister ( master ): “ master of the chapel choir ,” a definition later expanded to the leader of an ensemble . Impresario : Someone who organizes and usually finances concerts , plays , or operas . Andante : At a walking pace ( moderately slow ). Arpeggio : Tones of a chord played in succession rather than simultaneously . Allegretto grazioso : Fairly fast and lively , graciously .
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